Zuckerberg Media’s CEO feels some internet is better than no internet and getting people online and helping educate them about the value and benefits will be great.Shelley Singh&Anumeha Chaturvedi | ET Bureau | Updated: February 03, 2016, 09:54 IST

What’s the focus of Zuckerberg Media? Do you plan to start operations in India?

At Zuckerberg Media, we’re creating digital content across media — TV, digital networks and mobile. We are doing several TV shows on technology that will appear this year. We have a children’s TV show coming up this fall. If there are broadcast partner opportunities in India or Indian media companies that are creating original content, then we would love to partner with them though we have no plans to set up an office in India at present.

What should be done to enable more people to come online?

It’s something that has to happen because more and more jobs are revolving around technology. Industries are adopting artificial intelligence and robotics. For people who don’t have any access or knowledge of tech, it will really limit potential job opportunities in a decade from now. As a society, we owe it that as many people as possible get internet access. The digital divide can be bridged by partnering with private companies who can do that or government incentives to deploy internet access and broadband connectivity to remote regions. I worry about a world with digital haves and havenots. Digital haves whose children get access to technology the moment they are born and the digital havenots whose generation is going to be so far behind. Can they ever really catch up?

Do you miss your days at Facebook?

I miss it like you miss a great vacation you went on once. You know if you went back to that same place you could never recreate those memories but you feel so happy for them when you look back at the photo album.

People suspect the goal of large companies in providing internet access. They feel it’s against net neutrality. The company in question may have access to information it’s not entitled to.

Right now some internet is better than no internet. If we get people online and help educate them about the value and benefits, like access to education, medicine and connection to the outside world, it will be great. As we introduce people to internet we also need to educate them on their data and what they’re sharing. It's important to inform people on the benefits and also the trade-offs without creating a scare among them. There are a lot more benefits to being connected to the world rather than downsides.

There are very few women in technology roles.

That’s something I think about a lot. The positive answer is that it’s much better today than it was a decade ago when I started working at Facebook and Silicon Valley. You are starting to see a lot more female startup founders now and even in India. But yes, the numbers are so poor, so much worse than they need to be. At the top tech companies, fewer than 15% of the employees are women and very few of the executive team and leading engineers building the products are women.

But if you look at sites like YouTube, it’s mostly women consuming content and how could there be no women creating or managing that content. It’s not just YouTube but it applies to all tech companies. Women are the majority users of all of these tech companies. For me, diversity is a real passion area. And gender diversity is just one type of diversity. Diversity is an area that we need to expand upon.

You have spoken out against cyber bullying in the past. What can be done to curb this?

I’ve spoken out pretty loudly against online anonymity. I realise it’s easier for me to say this living in the US where there is freedom of speech and there’s protection. I don’t speak for everyone. But in democracies… we need to be responsible about what we post online. And how can you want all the benefits of internet without taking any responsibility for your actions and words. I found in my work at Facebook and Silicon Valley and now elsewhere that people behave more responsibly when their actual name and identity are tied to what they’re saying online. Anonymity brings out the worst.

Are you interested in investing in startups in India?

I am doing a lot of angel investing. I’m very interested in startups started by women. I’ve not yet invested in any company in India, though I could meet companies. My plate is full right now but I always make room for exciting founders.